Jean Carzou (1907-2000) - Soleil Rouge

Jean Carzou (1907-2000) — Imaginary/fantastical city under a blazing sun — Original lithograph, 1972 — Artist's proof very limited to only XIII/XX (13/20)

Original color lithograph by Jean Carzou (Aleppo, 1907 – Marsac-sur-l'Isle, 2000), painter, etcher and decorator of French origin with Armenian heritage, member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts (Institute of France) from 1977.

Signed and dated “72” in pencil at the lower right by the artist.
Annotated “Épreuve d'artiste sur Japon,” numbered XIII/XX at the lower left (print run limited to 20 artist's proofs only).
Technique: original lithograph on pearlized Japanese paper.
Framed under glass, matting, gilded period frame.
Excellent overall condition.

The work represents one of the most characteristic and sought-after subjects of Carzou's production in the 1970s: an imaginary fortified city, bristling with a multitude of arrows and turrets, unfolding beneath a stylized sun with linear rays, in a blazing palette of red and orange typical of the artist.

Jean Carzou illustrated works by Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus and Eugène Ionesco, and created sets and costumes for the Paris Opera and the Comédie-Française. His works are in the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art (Centre Pompidou), the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, and many international museums (Hermitage, Adelaide, etc.). A museum entirely dedicated to him exists in Manosque (Centre Carzou).